Game Boy Coding Adventure: Learn Assembly and Master the Original 8-Bit Handheld
Maximilien Dagois
Oct 2025 · No Starch Press
Ebook
456
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
infoThis book will become available on October 28, 2025. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
Talk to the Machine
Game Boy Coding Adventure is a hands-on guide to programming one of the most iconic consoles ever built. And there is magic here: By leveraging the simplified assembly language of this retro machine, you’ll learn how to control every aspect of the Game Boy’s 8-bit hardware.
As you build tile-based graphics, sprite animations, sound effects, input handling, timers, and more, you’ll discover how hardware behaves—and how software components work together to run interactive programs. Along the way, you’ll gain a strong foundation in systems programming, mastering concepts like memory management, registers, interrupts, and I/O.
You’ll learn how to:
Written by a veteran game developer with over 15 years of experience building graphics engines and shipping titles across PC, mobile, and consoles, this book teaches more than just syntax. It takes you back to a simpler platform with a reduced instruction set that’s perfect for learning. You’ll write assembly code that runs directly on real hardware, see the results immediately, and learn how to debug, optimize, and control every cycle. You’ll also build game-ready components and develop a clear understanding of how software and hardware interact.
Why stop now? Slot in the cartridge, flip the switch, and start coding.
Game Boy Coding Adventure is a hands-on guide to programming one of the most iconic consoles ever built. And there is magic here: By leveraging the simplified assembly language of this retro machine, you’ll learn how to control every aspect of the Game Boy’s 8-bit hardware.
As you build tile-based graphics, sprite animations, sound effects, input handling, timers, and more, you’ll discover how hardware behaves—and how software components work together to run interactive programs. Along the way, you’ll gain a strong foundation in systems programming, mastering concepts like memory management, registers, interrupts, and I/O.
You’ll learn how to:
- Write and debug assembly using RGBDS, the standard development toolchain
- Work with tiles, sprites, backgrounds, windows, and color palettes
- Control sound channels, interrupts, timers, frame pacing, and the joypad
- Leverage memory banking, DMA, and serial communication for more complex game features
- Experiment with the Super Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and the Game Boy Printer
Written by a veteran game developer with over 15 years of experience building graphics engines and shipping titles across PC, mobile, and consoles, this book teaches more than just syntax. It takes you back to a simpler platform with a reduced instruction set that’s perfect for learning. You’ll write assembly code that runs directly on real hardware, see the results immediately, and learn how to debug, optimize, and control every cycle. You’ll also build game-ready components and develop a clear understanding of how software and hardware interact.
Why stop now? Slot in the cartridge, flip the switch, and start coding.
About the author
Maximilien Dagois has over 15 years of experience building graphics as a professional game developer. His credits include Final Fantasy XIV, Dragon Quest Builders, and Pokémon Ranger. Now an engineer at Google, he brings his passion for retro hardware and systems programming to a new generation of coders. He lives in Tokyo.
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